The attention of the Hon. Minister of Power, Works and Housing, Mr Babatunde Fashola SAN has been drawn to the spurious and unfounded allegations of Leno Adesanya with regards to the ongoing Mambilla Power Project.

It has therefore become necessary to debunk the lies and resist the unjustified and malicious attack on the person of the Hon. Minister, Mr Babatunde Fashola SAN and save the innocent members of the public from the rather misleading and offensive publication widely circulating in various media platforms, authored and sponsored by Mr Adesanya in order to damage good name and reputation of the Minister to claim undue credit and attract unwarranted attention and sympathy.

Nothing is more further away from the truth than the claim that the loan negotiations have stalled since 2017 because of an attempt to utilize $600 Million (equivalent of N219 Billion) from the 3,050MW hydropower project for a “pet project” not hitherto considered by the Federal Executive Council.

There is currently no budgetary provision or cash provision of $600 million or the N219 Billion in any budget of the Federal Government for the Mambila Project.

Therefore you cannot attempt to divert what does not exist.

For the avoidance of doubt, the China Exim Bank disburse money to specific projects and on conclusion of negotiations, the loan will be devoted to the construction of the Mambila Power Project, which has been on the drawing board for close to 40 years before the advent of the Buhari administration which is now working assiduously to get the project off the ground.

The latest publication of fictional claims by Mr. Leno Adesanya in a national daily and the social media is the desperate attempt by him and his political sympathisers to destabilize a project that they could not bring to fruition.

The antics of Leno Adesanya and his ilk would readily explain why the project has taken so many years without lift-off.

Since Mr. Adesanya has chosen to go to court, he would be required to prove his baseless allegation in court.

The Federal Executive Council which is the highest decision making organ of the Executive Arm of Government never awarded a contract for the project to Mr Adesanya.

The allegation with regard to stalling the Mambilla project is untrue , baseless and a figment of Adesanya's imagination . The events and relevant facts will show that because Mr. Fashola first presented a memo on the Mambilla Power Project to the Federal Executive Council in August 2017; which was the first ever Federal Executive Council approval given to the Mambilla project in favour of a Chinese Joint venture.

The Minister has also accompanied the President twice to China on trips that had the project as one of the headline agenda.

The Hon. Minister in June 2018 attended, alongside officials of the Ministry of Finance, a meeting of the China Exim Bank to negotiate the terms of the loan for the project further.

And only this week, after the Federal Executive Council meeting, he briefed Nigerians about the approval of contracts for surveyors to demarcate the areas for the project.

These are the first contracts to start preparatory work on the project after 40 years delay.

These actions are not consistent with delay falsely being alleged against the Minister by Mr Adesanya.

Indeed, available evidence does not support the claims of Leno Adesanya and well-meaning Nigerians will be well advised to ignore him.

We hereby state, that no amount of negative effort to distract, intimidate or threaten the Hon. Minister in the performance of his duties in line with the pledge of the present Government to the Nigerian people on the provision of adequate infrastructure in all relevant sectors of the economy will succeed.

This is to inform FCT Residents, Visitors and Motorists that due to the National Convention of the All Progressives Congress, APC slated for Saturday, 6th October 2018 at the Eagle Square, Abuja, an unusual influx of human and vehicular traffic will be experienced within the city with the attendant traffic congestion in and around the venue of the convention.

To this effect all vehicular movement through Shehu Shagari Way from the early hours of Saturday, 6th October, 2018 to Sunday, 7th October will be diverted at Ralph Sodeinde Street by Bullet Building to link Central Business District. Motorists will also be diverted at Kur Mohammed Street and Constitution Avenue at Bayelsa House to Central Business District.

Traffic on Ahmadu Bello Way will equally be diverted at Ralph Sodeinde Street by Finance Junction to Central Business District. Motorists will also be diverted at Kur Mohammed Street or Constitution Avenue by Benue Building to link Central Business District.

The Federal Capital Territory Administration have mobilized Officers of the Police, FRSC, FCT Directorate of Road Traffic Service and other relevant Traffic Enforcement Agencies to various flash points to ensure seamless traffic flow.

Parking has been made available at the National Stadium for ALL Delegates coming from outside Abuja from where they will be conveyed to the venue by dedicated Buses.

In the same vein, ALL Delegates from within the FCT should converge at the Old Parade Ground from where they will be conveyed to the venue.

Please note that parking around the Eagle Square and its environs will not be tolerated as offending vehicles will be removed.

The Minister of State for Power, Works and Housing, Hon. Mustapha Baba Shehuri has warned the contractor handling rehabilitation works on Yola - Hong - Mubi road against delay in the delivery of the project.

2. Hon. Baba Shehuri gave the warning on Saturday, while on an inspection tour of Federal Government's ongoing road projects in Adamawa State.
He expressed dismay over the slow pace of work by the contractor, Messrs AG Vision (Nigeria) Limited. Baba Shehuri described the road as a vital artery to the socio-economic development of area, the entire State and beyond, hence the need for urgency in its delivery.

3. The contract, which commenced in May, 2017 with a 24 - month completion period, is presently at a dismal 15.10% completion, which the Minister described as unacceptable.

4. According to the Contractor, the major cause for the delay is insecurity occasioned by activities of Boko Haram Insurgents in the area and inadequate funding. Hon. Baba Shehuri, who did not hide his displeasure with the Contractor, agreed that though the project was facing some security and funding challenges, he reminded him of the Federal Government's commitment to ensuring security of lives and properties, while the Ministry is making frantic efforts to ensure that certificates are being paid.

5. The Minister urged the Contractor to expedite action on the project by improving on its capacities, stressing that the project is already running out of time. While also commending the communities along the corridor and road users alike for their cooperation and understanding, he reiterated the resolve of the President Muhammadu Buhari's Administration towards the provision of critical infrastructure.

6. In his briefing on the project earlier, the Federal Controller of Works, Adamawa State, Engr. Salihu Abubakar revealed that the contract sum is N21.8 billion, the Contractor fully mobilised to site in 2017 and presently has a total of N6.3 billion unpaid certificates.

7. In the same vein, Hon. Baba Shehuri has summoned the Contractor handling the rehabilitation of Mararrabar Mubi - Michika - Madagali road, Messrs Rhas (Nigeria) Limited to his Office for apathy to work. The Minister, who was visibly livid with anger, expressed his dissatisfaction with the Contractor for abandoning the project despite being fully mobilised. He added that based on the tempo of work on the site, the fate of this all - important project is already jeopardised.

8. The Minister also used the opportunity to express misgivings over claims by the Contractor that the project was initially delayed due to non - availability of working drawings.

9. According to the Federal Controller, the 90 - kilometre road with 3 bridges, which were distroyed by Boko Haram Insurgents in 2014, has a completion period of 18 months, which had already elapsed and the project at a mere 1.7% completion.

10. However, the case of the Contractor handling the rehabilitation of Cham - Numan road project in Gombe and Adamawa States is different, as the Minister was highly impressed with the level of work achieved thus far. Eventhough the Minister applauded the pace of project, he still urged for increased tempo, while assuring the prompt release of funds to meet the project's timeline.

Third Year Progress Report As Delivered By H.E Babatunde Raji Fashola, SAN At The Conference Room Of The Ministry Of Power,Works And Housing

Distinguished ladies and gentlemen, Saturday the 10th day of November 2018 was the 3rd anniversary of the day when President Buhari inaugurated the current Federal Executive Council and announced the merger of the Ministry of Power, Works and Housing into one new ministry, on the 11th November, 2018.

Shortly after the inauguration and specifically on the 8th day of December 2015, I addressed members of the public in a statement titled “Setting the Agenda for Delivering Change” in which I set out what we inherited, what we plan to do, and what members of the public should expect from us.

For the sake of consistency, let me refresh your memories by repeating some of what I said about each sector, as a benchmark for assessing our progress in the report which I will present shortly.

With regard to our mandate on power supply, I promised that we will improve on the gas supply, increase the transmission capacity, pay MDA debts and generally improve your experience with power supply, first by getting incremental power, then proceed to stable power and hopefully reach uninterrupted power.

With regard to works, I said:

“As at May 2015, many contractors have stopped work because of payment and many fathers and wives employed by them have been laid off as a result. The possibility to return those who have just lost their jobs back to work is the kind of change that we expect to see…”

And with regard to Housing, I said:

“The Housing Sector presents an enormous opportunity for positively impacting the economy to promote not only growth but inclusion.”

I also said that:

“Government will lead the aggressive intervention to increase supply” starting with a pilot.”

Ladies and Gentlemen, on behalf of my colleagues, Hon. Mustapha Baba Shehuri and Surveyor Suleiman Hassan Zarma, the Honourable Ministers of State who manage this ministry with me, the Permanent Secretaries; Mohammed Bukar for Works and Housing; Louis Edozien, for Power, the Directors and all the staff of the ministry, the heads of our various parastatals and their staff, I am proud and happy to report that we have walked our talk, and we have delivered visible results and recorded qualitative progress.

With regard to power, we have improved on what we met, by increasing generation from 4000 MW to 7000 MW, transmission from 5000 MW to 7000 MW and distribution from 2690 MW to 5,222 MW.

Our work is clearly not finished, and we are still in the process of delivering additional:

* Distribution through over 100 injection sub-stations and a distribution expansion programme to be funded by the Federal Government now in an advanced state of procurement.

Although there are still people we have not reached, although there are still disruptions from time to time, and although there are still people who also need meters, and we are working to reach them, it is indisputable that we have delivered on incremental power.

The evidence of our progress is not only captured in the last quarter of the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) Report for Q2 of 2018 which shows a growth of 7.5% in the electricity sector, previous quarterly reports from 2017, have consistently recorded growth, a clear departure from 2014-2015 and proof of change.

As I promised you in my inaugural address, it will not just be electricity by numbers, it will be borne out by personal experiences.

The report of our survey and feedback mechanism confirm that many of you now have public power for longer hours compared to 2015, and you now run generators for shorter periods compared to 2015 and you now spend less money on diesel to power your generators.

As some Citizens recently reported, they no longer have to iron all their clothes one week in advance as they previously used to do, because the supply is proving reliable and predictable even if not yet fully Stable and uninterrupted.

This is progress that we must move forward by consolidating on our mandate of change. We cannot go back.

As our policies on Mini Grids, Meter Asset Provider, Eligible Customer, and liquidity sustenance and improved governance deepens, your experience with power supply can only get better.

Our progress report on public works relating to roads and bridges also confirms that we have fulfilled our promise.

We have recovered the thousands of jobs that were lost to public works.

This recovery is the result of an expansive infrastructure spending that saw works budget grow from N18.132b in 2015 to N394b in 2018.

The outcome is that there is not one state in Nigeria today where the Federal Government is not executing at least one road project and construction workers are engaged on these sites.

Difficult or abandoned projects like the 2nd Niger Bridge, Lagos-Ibadan Expressway and the Bodo-Bonny Bridge have been brought back to life.

Sections of Ilorin-Jebba, Sokoto to Jega, Sokoto-Ilela have been completed, while progress of works continues nationwide from Jada to Mayo Belwa, Enugu to Port Harcourt, Lagos to Otta, Ikorodu to Shagamu, Benin to Okene, Lokoja to Abuja, Kano to Maiduguri, Abuja – Kaduna, Kano to mention a few.

Apart from recovered construction jobs and growth in construction sector of the economy, the feedback from road users is that the journey times are reducing on the completed roads.

Only last week a commuter sent a text message to me that he travelled from Warri to Lagos in Five and Half hours.

This is what we promised in my inaugural address.

That journey used to take a whole day before President Buhari was elected and sometimes people slept on the Road. We cannot go back to that era. We are determined to move forward.

We acknowledge that the work is not finished, but as long as we remain able to finance the projects, I have no doubt that it will get better.

Our intervention on roads does not stop on interstate highways. It has also entered 14 Federal Universities where unattended internal roads are now receiving attention in:

This is the First Phase under the 2017 Budget and we are preparing to do more under the 2018 Budget.

It is important to highlight this intervention and the 9 (Nine) Indepedent Power projects in Federal Universities as an investment in Education for the benefit of those who seek more funding for education.

As we build roads, we are also attending to old or damaged bridges and restoring the value of maintenance.

So, while the Loko -Oweto Bridge is nearing completion, the damaged Tatabu Bridge linking Ilorin and Jebba has been reconstructed and the Tamburawa Bridge in Kano, the Isaac Boro Bridge in Rivers, Eko Bridge in Lagos and the Old Niger Bridge that links Anambra and Delta are receiving regular maintenance attention.

As for housing, permit me to start with public buildings like Federal Secretariats in Zamfara, Bayelsa, Nasarawa and Ekiti where public works are being undertaken, and to mention the Zik Mausoleum in Onitsha which has now been practically completed.

Let me also point out that our pilot National Housing Programme has led to a nationwide Housing Construction being undertaken in the 34 states where we have received land.

No less than 1,000 people are employed on each site apart from the staff of the successful contractors.

These sites are an ecosystem of human enterprise, where artisans, vendors, suppliers and craftsmen converge to partake of opportunities and contribute to nation building.

These are some of the most vulnerable people for whom President Buhari has delivered.

Our parastatals like the Federal Mortgage Bank of Nigeria (FMBN) and the Federal Housing Authority (FHA) are also contributing.

Policies like the reduction of equity contribution from 5% to 0% for those seeking mortgage loans of up to N5million, and reduction from 15% to 10% for those seeking loans over N5million are helping to ease access to housing.

The ministry is also tackling the backlog of issuance of consent and Certificates of Occupany to Federal Government land.

A total of 1,216 Application for Consent to transfer interests in Land application and 1,300 Certificates of occupancy have been approved and signed respectively as at 25th October 2018.

Some of these transactions started over a decade ago and those just getting certificates acquired their properties years back but never got title.

You will go a long way back in our history to find out when a Federal Government set out such clear objectives and is able to come back to show its progress report.

As you all know, we are now in the month of November and heading to the end of the year.

What this means is that festivity, end of year activity and consequent movement of goods and services will put pressure on our roads nationwide.

Our Ember month planning committee, working with FRSC and FERMA have been meeting to prepare themselves to make your movement during this period as conducive as the circumstances will permit.

FRSC will deploy their personnel across the major transport corridors of the country during this period of heavy movement to help manage traffic.

They have committed to setting up 9 camps and 18 help areas across the zones to provide support and help to commuters in need.

The ministry staff have identified 53 critical roads requiring intervention while construction is going on in order to move traffic and we will be working with our contractors to provide relief gangs.

We are also deploying the Zonal Directors to their zones of responsibility until this period of peak traffic subsides.

What is true of pressure on roads at the end of the year is true of pressure on the power supply with the heat and weather change that comes with end of the year.

There will be increased demand for water and cooling in dry and hot weather which translates to increased demand for electricity in our homes, offices, and other places of activity.

Our ember month team have been set up to keep the supply on and, where possible, increase it to meet demand.

We have prepared for the worst and we now hope for the best.

The success of our plans now depend on the cooperation of road users who must drive carefully and energy users who must comserve energy when not needed.

Ladies and gentlemen, we came to this job in November 2015 with a mountain to climb.

With careful thinking, planning, and a dedicated team of public officers, we have a firm foothold on our way to the top.

Our policies have shown what is possible with critical sectors recording growth.

What remains is time that it takes for the full harvest of the fruits of our policies in plenitude and prosperity of our people.

We cannot go back to the bottom of the mountain when the plateau is now within reach.

Let me conclude by wishing you all a Merry Christmas in and a prosperous 2019 in advance and assure you of our readiness to continue to serve you.

Thank you for listening.

Babatunde Raji Fashola, SANHonourable Minister of Power, Works and Housing

Hon Minister of Power Works Housing and Keynote Speaker Mr Babatunde Fashola SAN right Principal Partner GEPLAW Mr George Etomi midle shortly after the Etomi Leadership Conference 2018 with the theme If Not Us Who If Not Now When at the Grand Junction Room Landmark Towers Water Corporation Rd Victoria Island Lagos on Friday 28th December 2018

Hon Minister of Power Works Housing Mr Babatunde Fashola SAN right Permanent Secretary Power Engr Louis Edozien left and Governor State of Osun Mr Isiaka Gboyega Oyetola middle in a group photograph shortly after a meeting on State of Osun s infrastructural development at the Ministry of Power Works and Housing Headquarters Mabushi Abuja on Monday 17th December 2018